U.S. Keeps Costa Rica in Suspense Over Request For Tariff Exemptions On Aluminum and Steel Exports

The US government keeps Costa Rica and its steel and aluminum exporters in suspense. The Trump administration has yet to answer the requests made by way of the US Embassy in San Jose that the new tariffs products made of steel and aluminum, respectively, not be applied to Costa Rica exporters.

The formal request was made by the Solis administration in mid-March. The Ministry of Foreign Trade confirmed that these tariffs are already in force for Costa Ricans. Trump signed the imposition of these new taxes on the 8th of March.

“The previous administration made a formal high-level proposal to explain in detail to the United States the technical reasons that support Costa Rica’s exclusion from the application of these additional tariffs. Currently, we are waiting for a formal response from the United States regarding these efforts,” said (interim) Minister of Foreign Trade, Duayner Salas.